David L. Lawrence

This article is about the governor of Pennsylvania, and long-time Pittsburgh mayor. For other people named David Lawrence, seeDavid Lawrence (disambiguation).

David L. Lawrence
37thGovernor of Pennsylvania
In office January 20, 1959 – January 15, 1963
Lieutenant	John Morgan Davis
Preceded by	George M. Leader
Succeeded by	William Scranton
51stMayor of Pittsburgh
In office January 7, 1946– January 15, 1959
Preceded by	Cornelius D. Scully
Succeeded by	Thomas Gallagher
9thPresident of the United States Conference of Mayors
In office 1950–1952
Preceded by	Cooper Green
Succeeded by	Martin H. Kennelly
Member of the Democratic National Committee from Pennsylvania
In office May 22, 1940 – November 21, 1966
Preceded by	George Howard Earle III
Succeeded by	Joseph M. Barr
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In office January 15, 1935 – January 17, 1939
Governor	George Earle
Preceded by	Richard Beamish
Succeeded by	Sophia O'Hara
Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party
In office June 8, 1934– May 22, 1940
Preceded by	Warren Van Dyke
Succeeded by	Meredith Meyers
Personal details
Born	David Leo Lawrence, (1889-06-18)June 18, 1889 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,U.S.
Died	November 21, 1966(1966-11-21)(aged 77) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Alyce Lawrence
Profession	Party delegate,Civil servant,Politician

David Leo Lawrence(June 18, 1889 – November 21, 1966) was an American politician who served as the 37thgovernor of Pennsylvaniafrom 1959 to 1963. The first Catholic elected as Pennsylvania's governor, Lawrence is the only mayor of Pittsburgh to have also been elected as Governor of Pennsylvania. He served four terms as mayor, from 1946 through 1959. A panel of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him third among the ten best mayors in American history.

Early life

Lawrence was born into a working-classIrishCatholic family in the downtown Golden Triangle neighborhood ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Too poor to attend college, Lawrence instead took a job as a clerk for Pittsburgh attorney William Brennan, the chairman of the local Democratic party and a labor movement pioneer. Brennan became a personal friend and mentor to the teenage Lawrence.

Lawrence entered the insurance business in 1916. In 1918 he entered the Army in World War I, serving as an officer in theadjutant general'soffice in Washington, D.C.

Pittsburgh politics

When he returned home from the army in 1919, Lawrence was elected as chairman of theAllegheny CountyDemocratic Party. At the time, Pittsburgh was a Republican bastion, with Democrats holding wide support only in the lower class and among recent immigrants, who were concentrated in industrial jobs. With the help ofJoe Guffey,a future US Senator, Lawrence led the rising Pennsylvania Democratic party that would soon dominate local and statewide politics. In the 1928 presidential election, Lawrence worked hard forAlfred E. Smithfrom New York, another Irish Roman Catholic politician who had also risen from the slums without the benefit of a formal education. The vicious anti-Catholic campaign that defeated Al Smith that year had a profound effect on Lawrence. He believed that Roman Catholicism was an insurmountable handicap in United States presidential politics.Consequently, at the1932 Democratic National Convention,Lawrence deserted Al Smith's presidential campaign and delivered the Pennsylvania delegation to Franklin D. Roosevelt, solely because of his fear of the religious issue.

Meanwhile, in 1931, Lawrence had run for Allegheny County Commissioner but lost. It was one of his last losses, as the effects of theGreat Depressionand a series of scandals rapidly eroded support for the Republican party in Pittsburgh. Two years later, Lawrence was appointed U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue for Western Pennsylvania by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt.In 1934, he helped electGeorge Earleas the first Democratic governor of Pennsylvania in the 20th century. Earle appointed him as theSecretary of the Commonwealth.That same year, Lawrence became state chairman of the Democratic Party.

Mayoralty

In 1945, Lawrence was elected mayor of Pittsburgh by a narrow margin. At the time, Pittsburgh was considered one of the most polluted cities in America, with smog so thick that it was not unusual for streetlights to burn during the daytime. Its industries had worked overtime during the war, adding to the pollution of air and water. Lawrence developed a seven-point program for Pittsburgh during his first days in office, making him one of the first civic leaders to implement a dedicatedurban renewalplan. Republicans still controlled much of city politics and business at the time, so Lawrence had to forge bipartisan alliances to accomplish his objectives. His most famous partnership was withRichard Mellon,chairman of one of the largest banks in America and a staunch Republican. Despite their political differences, Mellon and Lawrence were both interested in the revival of Pittsburgh and both were earlyenvironmentalists.This partnership drove what came to be called thePittsburgh Renaissance(later Renaissance I).

From 1950 through 1952, Lawrence served as president of theUnited States Conference of Mayors.

A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli saw Lawrence ranked as the third-best American big-city mayor to serve between the years 1820 and 1993.

Pennsylvania politics

After an unprecedented four terms as mayor of Pittsburgh, Lawrence was drafted by Democrats to run for governorin 1958.He was initially reluctant, citing his age (nearing 70) as a potential drawback. He eventually accepted his party's nomination and narrowly defeatedReadingbusinessmanArthur McGonigleto become Pennsylvania's 37th governor and its first Catholic one.

During his four-year term as governor, Lawrence passed anti-discrimination legislation,environmental protectionlaws, expanded Pennsylvania's library system, passed Pennsylvania's fair housing law, and advocatedhistoric preservation.He also passed vigorous highway safety legislation, which some attribute to the fact that two of his sons were killed in an automobile accident. His expansion of state bureaucracies came at the price of budget deficits and tax increases, a move that angered manyfiscal conservatives.

In 1960, Lawrence was among a group of political leaders who created theFinnegan Foundation,which provide practical training in government and politics for outstanding undergraduate students by offering ten-week paid internships in the state government in Harrisburg each summer.

National politics

Lawrence had attended his firstDemocratic National Conventionas a page in 1912 and would attend every subsequent convention until his death. He was instrumental in the nominations ofFranklin Delano Rooseveltin 1932 andJohn F. Kennedyin 1960, and became known as the "maker of presidents". In the weeks leading up to the1948 Democratic National Convention,Lawrence was one of the few urban bosses to supportHarry S Truman's attempts to win the Presidential nomination.

At the 1948 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, where Harry Truman sought the Democratic presidential nomination with Lawrence's support, however, Lawrence would surprise liberals and conservatives alike by shifting the Pennsylvania delegation away from the more tepid civil rights plank that the Administration preferred to a more aggressively liberal one.Lawrence is often credited with convincing John F. Kennedy to chooseLyndon Johnsonas hisrunning mateto balance the ticket and mend a rift between northern and southern Democrats.

In1958(during the heat of the Governor's race), then Mayor Lawrence was eventually exonerated of influencing theFederal Communications Commissionalong with the U.S. Senator fromFlorida,George Smathers.The charges involved the granting of a television license toWTAE-TVbetween its ownership group and that ofWPXI.The U.S. House hearings with Lawrence present were high drama.

Later life

Limited to one term under existing state law, Lawrence retired from elected office in 1963. He continued to be active in Democratic politics and served the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunities in Housing.

Death

Lawrence fell ill and collapsed on November 4, 1966, at a campaign rally held at Pittsburgh'sSyria Mosquefor gubernatorial candidateMilton Shapp.He was rushed to a local hospital. He died 17 days later, having never regained consciousness. He was 77 years old. His death brought eulogies from both President Johnson and Harry S. Truman.Funeral services were held at St. Mary of Mercy Church indowntown Pittsburghon November 25, 1966. The 2,000 attendees included SenatorRobert F. Kennedy,MayorsJoseph M. Barrof Pittsburgh,Jerome CavanaghofDetroit,James TateandRichardson Dilworthof Philadelphia, Govs.William Scranton,James H. Duff,Raymond P. ShaferandJohn S. Fine,along with PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonstaff membersRobert E. KintnerandW. Marvin Watson,Secretary of AgricultureOrville Freemanand Secretary of the InteriorStewart Udall.After the services all guests and family joined a 250-car motorcade following the hearse down theBoulevard of the Allies,acrossGrant Streetand upI-376for the burial.

He is buried in Pittsburgh'sCalvary Cemetery,behind the plot of his longtime friendHarry Greband beside the plots of his two eldest sons, who had died years before.

Lawrence's death was subsequently ascribed to the cramped conditions and limited resuscitation equipment in thehearse-type ambulancein which he was taken to hospital. This catalyzed reform and improvement in Pittsburgh'sambulanceservice and those of other American cities.

Family

Lawrence's two eldest sons both died as passengers in a joyriding car accident on April 19, 1942, north of Pittsburgh nearZelienoplealongU.S. Route 19.

Another son, Gerald Lawrence, became the long-time Vice President and General Manager ofChurchill Downs,the prominent racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky.

His grandsonTom Donahoeserved as General Manager for the hometownPittsburgh Steelersfrom 1991 until 1999, helping take the team toSuper Bowl XXX.He later served as GM for theBuffalo Billsfrom 2001 until 2005, as well as a contributor toESPN.com.

Another grandson, Gerald "Jerry" Lawrence, is the chair of thePennsylvania Democratic Party’s seven-county Southeast Caucus and candidate to be Chairperson of the statewide Democratic Party.

Honors

Buildings named in honor of Lawrence includeThe David L. Lawrence Convention Centerin Pittsburgh, the David Lawrence Hall of theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Lawrence Hall in the Governor's Quad atIndiana University of Pennsylvania,and Lawrence Hall ofPoint Park University.Lawrence is also honored atEdinboro University of Pennsylvania,as it named two dormitories the Lawrence Towers. The David L. Lawrence Library, later the David L. Lawrence Administration Center, atLa Salle Universitywas dedicated by Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey.

Electoral history

• 1945 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 52%
  • Rob Waddell (R), 47%
• 1949 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 60%
  • Tim Ryan (R), 39%
• 1953 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 62%
  • Leonard Patrick Kane (R), 37%
• 1957 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 64%
  • John Drew (R), 35%
• 1958 Race for Pennsylvania Governor
  • David Lawrence (D), 53%
  • Arthur McGonigle(R), 46%

References and further reading

• Heineman, Kenneth J.Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh(Penn State Press, 2010).
  • Heineman, Kenneth J. "A Catholic New Deal: Religion and Labor in 1930s Pittsburgh."Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography118.4 (1994): 363–394.online
• Heineman, Kenneth J. "Catholics, Communists, and Conservatives: The Making of Cold War Democrats on the Pittsburgh Front."U.S. Catholic Historian(2016): 25–54.online
• Heineman, Kenneth J. "A Tale of Two Cities: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the Elusive Quest for a New Deal Majority in the Keystone State."Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography132.4 (2008): 311–340.online
• Holli, Melvin G.The American Mayor: The Best and the Worst Big-City Leaders(Penn State UP, 1999) pp 98–126.
• Isaacson, Mariel P. "Fantasy meets reality: the Pittsburgh renaissance and urban utopias."Journal of Urban History41.1 (2015): 13–19.
• Lubove, Roy, ed.Twentieth Century Pittsburgh Volume 1: Government, Business, and Environmental Change(1996)
• Luconi, Stefano. "Machine politics and the consolidation of the roosevelt majority: The case of Italian Americans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia."Journal of American Ethnic History(1996): 32–59.online
• McElligott, Patricia.Irish Pittsburgh(Arcadia, 2013)online.
• Shames, Sally Oleon. "David L. Lawrence, Mayor of Pittsburgh: Development of a Political Leader" (PhD dissertation, University of Pittsburgh; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1958. 5805634)
• Smith, Eric Ledell, and Kenneth C. Wolensky. "A Novel Public Policy: Pennsylvania's Fair Employment Practices Act of 1955."Pennsylvania History(2002): 489–523.online
• Stave, Bruce M.The New Deal and the last hurrah: Pittsburgh machine politics(U of Pittsburgh Pre, 1970).
  • Stave, Bruce Martin. "The New Deal, the Last Hurrah, and the Building of an Urban Political Machine: Pittsburgh Committeemen, A Case Study."Pennsylvania History33.4 (1966): 460–483.online
• Weber, Michael P.Don't Call Me Boss: David L. Lawrence: Pittsburgh's Renaissance Mayor(U of Pittsburgh Press, 1988) ISBN 0-8229-3565-1.

External links

• November 22, 1966 Obituary from the Pittsburgh Press
• Finding aid to the David Leo Lawrence Papersat the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
• Michael P. Weber Papers,1963–1984, AIS.1988.15, Archives Service Center, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on "Don't Call me Boss"
• President Johnson's statement on the passing of David Lawrence